Jacksonville’s Northside region was covered with swampland before the 1950s. The floodplain was home to some bait and tackle shops, commercial fisheries, and luxury waterfront homes, but all that changed as the fledgling city grew.
Builders constructed middle-class white suburbs in Northside, at first out of the way of major tributaries that were known to regularly spill over and flood—and then, to keep up with demand, eventually right near the waterways. Home prices in the Northside area began to drop in the ‘70s, as newer suburbs eventually went up in the city’s Southside area. Many lower-income black residents who had been longtime renters jumped at the opportunity to become homeowners in the city’s neighborhoods near the Ribault River. “Like the show, ‘The Jeffersons,’ they were moving on up,” said Lloyd Washington, Grand Park Community Association president.
